Agent of Chaos
by KissMyAsthma911
Summary: A young man, burdened by loss. A mad god, dissatisfied with his reign. The story of an unfortunate soul and the role he must play after making a deal with the Spirit of Chaos. MLP/Pokemon crossover. Inspired by whatmustido's Diaries of a Madman. AU. Rated M for violence. Full summary inside.
1. Discord's Latest Masterpiece

**Author's Note: A little info on the story before we begin. This here fic stems from my continuous frustrations and disappointments with current HiE fics. The human protagonist will _not_ be some goofy/snarky/smarmy/happy-go-lucky do(uchebag) gooder with a heart of gold. This story will _not _take on the silly/comedic approach that so many other authors employ with HiE fics. In fact it will be quite serious and more than a little dark and while it won't exactly be a gore fest, the M-rating will most certainly come into play. Dark themes will include but not be limited to violence, language, death, blood, gore and torture(possibly). Also, this can be considered an AU fic.  
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**Summary: The princesses were defeated, the Elements of Harmony neutralized. Discord had won and seized control of Equestria where he ruled unchallenged and unequaled for countless centuries. But eventually, he realizes that the events after victory become predictable, routine, boring. Discord sets out to rectify this and spice things up a bit. And so comes Red, a young human from another world who has nothing left to live for. A deal is made and now, armed with only his backpack, fleeting fragments of his previous life and knowledge of the world around him, Red sets out to find his place in a new and wondrous land. Little does he suspect his life will be subject to the machinations of the mad Spirit of Chaos.**

**I own neither MLP or Pokemon.**

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Darkness.

Silence.

Solitude.

Boredom.

For a long time, these were the only truths Discord knew. At one point, he reigned over all of Equestria and was one of the most powerful entities alive in existence, easily being able to make the laws of reality bend to his will. And it ended on an unceremonious note when the two Princesses banded together and used the Elements of Harmony to overthrow him and encased him in his stone form.

And as if that was not enough he had to suffer the indignity of his body being used as an ornament... a garden ornament no less. But the worst part of his imprisonment was, by far the boredom. Though his body was incapable of movement and his magic had been nullified, Discord could still hear and was still aware of what transpired around him.

With him gone, Celestia and Luna had assumed command of Equestria. The two sisters then began their campaign to root out chaos and disharmony from the land. Slowly but surely, Equestria and its population recovered and as time passed Discord, his reign and his misdeeds eventually faded to nothing more than a distant memory.

Being the Lord of Chaos, Discord naturally drew power from chaos itself. The source of his power was taken away as peace and harmony replaced strife and chaos and for the next several centuries, he languished helplessly in his stone prison. During that time he dedicated his time to finding a way to remove the spell of the Elements.

Nothing worked. Nothing he did could so much as penetrate the power of the Elements but with the source of his power being taken away, this was nothing more than a pipe dream. Since he could not do anything to bypass the spell from the outside, he then sought to try from the inside and although this process bore no success either, he did stumble upon an interesting find.

While there was nothing he could do to free is body, his spirit was another matter. With time and experimentation, he realized he could project his spirit, his essence, into the world outside his body and by extension, the spell of the Elements of Harmony. Frustratingly, he could do no magic in this 'spirit form' either as what reserves he had were being used to maintain it. And so he resigned himself to simply use the spirit form to investigate his surroundings.

On occasion, he tried to scare any passerby to amuse himself only to be met with failure. It seemed his spirit form was invisible and intangible as well. Left with no other choice he settled for simply exploring the palace. He found that he could only remain in spirit form for about an hour before he could feel his magic reserves depleting. As to what would happen if his magic ran out while in spirit form, he did not know and he certainly didn't want to find out while in his vulnerable position.

At first, he decided to spy on Celestia and Luna. Fortunately, neither of them could detect him in spirit form. Unfortunately, spying on them was an extraordinarily dull task. When the princesses woke up they went about their morning rituals and would then join each other for breakfast(dinner for Luna). When that was done they went about their 'princessly duties' which usually involved legal matters, formal(boring) social events and mountains of paperwork and it was all Discord could do to keep from vomiting at the sheer boredom of it all. The princesses, in his opinion, needed to get a life.

So he settled for wandering Canterlot Palace and hoping he could find something to entertain himself. On one day, he wandered through the most heavily secured sections of the palace and came to a long corridor that led to a single door at the end. His curiosity piqued, he easily phased through to find himself in a small, circular room. Grey, made of stone, and completely unremarkable.

It was empty, save for a full size mirror placed against the back wall. Intrigued by this, Discord floated up to the mirror. He could sense it was governed by powerful magics, but they were also unlike any types of magic he had encountered before. They were bizarre and... unnatural. His curiosity was piqued and then proceeded to further inspect the mirror.

From what he could tell, there were no protective or offensive enchantments. Rather, the mirror's magic seemed to be of the passive sort. He tentatively reached with one talon and touched the mirror's reflective surface. Unsurprisingly, the talon phased through. But much to the draconequus' amazement, he could feel his magic strengthen, the energy coursing from the talon to his body. He pulled the appendage back and the flow of power stopped.

Discord then decided on an experiment. He moved himself so that he was facing the side of the mirror rather than the front. Using his long, flexible body he positioned his tail and hindquarters to the mirror's front while keeping his gaze at the back. He gingerly slid his tail into the mirror's surface. It phased through just as his talon had and once again he felt the incoming current of power.

But his did not reappear at the mirror's back and it was then that Discord realized. The mirror was not merely a mirror. It was a portal, a doorway to another place. Exactly where it led to was a mystery but nevertheless, it led to a place where the source of his power was clearly in abundance. With this in mind he sidled to the mirror's front, braced himself and stepped through.

Whereas he had been in the palace moments ago, Discord now found himself in a grassy clearing outdoors. The area was empty and Discord immediately felt his magic steadily strengthening. For the next few minutes he simply closed his eyes and revelled in the sensation. Chaos. Glorious chaos. This place, wherever it was, was rife with it. He then turned to see the spot he had just come through. It was a large square pedestal made of stone and atop it stood the statue of a creature unlike any he had seen before.

It was somewhat equine in appearance and had a protrusion out the back of its head that was about half the length of its body; whether this protrusion was a horn or a mane he did not know. The sides just in front of its flank also sported a cross-like wheel. The area behind the statue gave way to a vast plain and then what seemed like a forest and from the front, Discord could see that he was standing on a grassy hill.

He floated towards the edge and from there he could make out a town not too far in the distance. He eagerly began to float his way over to investigate. Could this settlement be the source of the delectable chaos he had detected upon his arrival? As he made his way closer, Discord began to make out the forms of the inhabitants moving about their business.

Two legged bipeds with little hair and covered mostly in furs and clothing. Having lived several millennia before Celestia and Luna, Discord had traversed the farthest reaches of the world, yet he had never before encountered beings such as these.

In time he would come to learn they were called humans and though their language was strange to him, he would eventually come to understand it. He would come to realize this was not the world he had lived in but an entirely different one. He would come to learn this world was populated by what the humans called Pokemon, creatures with astonishing powers.

For several millennia, he would watch as the humans, who were right near the bottom of the food chain, advanced their society and their technology. He would watch as they rose to spread across the four corners of the world and dominate the Pokemon around them until they became the dominant species of their planet. He watched as they accomplished both wondrous, terrible - and yes, chaotic - feats with their technology.

The humans were warriors and conquerors and wherever they went, chaos was sure to follow. They were self-destructive and constantly in conflict with one another. It was them that slowly returned power to Discord. With the energy he drew from the chaos of the world, the draconequus would spend years and then decades at a time in this paradise; watching, learning and waiting before phasing to the portal that brought him here and back to Equestria.

Then that fateful day came when the Cutie Mark Crusaders unknowingly released the spirit of chaos from his stone prison.

Having spent millennia in the chaotic world of the humans, Discord had been restored to his full power and now that he was free, he did not hold back. The Elements of Harmony had been his bane. Even though his power had returned from spending time in the humans' world, he still was not able to break their power over him and so he sought to deal with them first.

Killing Twilight Sparkle and her friends would be pointless as the Elements could simply find six other bearers to wield them. Destroying the Elements themselves would also be a fruitless effort. Though the objects that held their power could be destroyed, the magic of the Elements themselves could not; they would simply reform their physical vessels. So he took a page from Celestia's book and banished them to the moon.

With the Elements neutralized, he then set his sights on Celestia and Luna. The princesses fought valiantly but fell in the end. They could not be killed any more than he could be and instead they were turned to stone and placed at the deepest reaches of the ocean where the immense pressures would crush anyone foolish enough to venture into its depths.

With his victory secured, Discord would now spend countless centuries ruling Equestria where he reigned unequaled by all. Twilight Sparkle and her friends would constantly try to find ways to overthrow him and bring peace back to their land, but their efforts would be effortlessly neutralized at every turn by the mad draconequus. They were persistent, he would give them that, but in the grand scheme of things they were nothing more than insects going up against a dragon.

They would ultimately fail as time and age stole them away.

As the eons passed, Discord found himself growing unsatisfied with his rule. Whereas in the past several factions would rise to try and overthrow him, the inhabitants of Equestria, now called Distopia, had lost all hope and submitted themselves to his rule. There were no more rebel organizations to amuse him and he had long since stretched the limits of his imagination to find fun and inventive ways to bring chaos to the world. In short, he was growing bored and nothing he did could change this.

In one of his rare moments of reflection, he sat on his new, garishly decorated throne and looked back to his time as a statue and when he had wandered into the human world.

Humans. Fascinating creatures they were, but their self-destructive ways had long since caused their extinction. They had been, in his opinion the physical embodiment of chaos in their world. He wondered, what would it have been like if it was them in Equestria and not himself? In what ways would they assert their own brand of chaos into the world? He sure would have liked to see it.

The God of Chaos sat straighter on his throne. What if.. what _if... _there _had_ been humans instead of him? Yes... that would prove to be most interesting. In theory, it _could _be done. Humans had long since been extinct, but all it would take would be a snap of his talons and Discord would be back in a time when they still existed. He could then snatch a number of them, take them back to the portal and leave them in Equestria. Yes, this was certainly doable.

But how many of them should he introduce? What number would be the right one? Introducing too many would cause a problem, as their presence would quickly reach the ears of the princesses, they would be constantly watched to make sure they did not cause problems. No, he would have to introduce a small number that could be easily managed.

He considered introducing a few groups of two or three, but that would not do. The groups would have to be kept far apart so they would not draw too much attention, but there was also the fact that managing them would be a time consuming process, especially if the groups were separated. And of course, each human would have to be constantly monitored to avoid any complications.

No, only one human would be needed for this to work.

And what would be the defining characteristics of this human? It was their adaptability, their resourcefulness, their intelligence, their cunning, their ambition and their drive to rise above all others that enabled them to rise and become the dominant species of their world. If Discord was to choose a puppet, it would be one that possessed these traits in abundance.

He reached into his mind and searched his memories of his time in the humans' world for a suitable candidate. There were many promising individuals but there was one in particular that caught his eye.

Yes... he would be perfect.

Now that he had a suitable plan, Discord snapped his talons and the world blurred and rippled around him as time began to shift at his whim. He timed the date of his return carefully. He didn't want to risk Celestia getting wind of his presence here, so he chose a time when her undivided attention was elsewhere. The day when Nightmare Moon returned from her thousand year banishment.

As everything began to clear Discord now found himself on top of a hill overlooking the town of Ponyville, moments ago the chaos capital of the world but now a quaint and rustic little village where earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns lived together in peace and harmony. Farther away and to the north the city of Canterlot was visible.

Discord snapped his talons again and was transported to the middle of Ponyville. He had cast a series of powerful enchantments that would make him invisible and unnoticeable by all. He had a strange feeling as he began to wander about the little hamlet. After so many years of nothing but chaos and disharmony, it was almost surreal to see town in such a state of peace and quiet.

And then who should draw his attention but Twilight Sparkle herself. If memory served, today was the very first day she had set foot in Ponyville and where she would meet her soon to be friends and fellow Bearers.

The young filly did not seem overly pleased to find herself in town and Discord followed her as she made her way into an apple orchard near the outskirts of the town. While he did so, he noticed a small pegasus filly speeding away on a little makeshift scooter. Oh, yes. He knew her indeed. After all, it was thanks to that filly and her rowdy friends that Discord now walked free instead of being confined in his stone prison.

Not too long after he conquered the princesses and the Elements of Harmony, Discord had let it slip out that it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves that enabled his escape. The young fillies' grave error would haunt them throughout the rest of their miserable little lives. After the news broke out and as Discord consolidated his power and imposed his will throughout the land, the Crusaders were largely maligned and hated by most of the population and even outright assaulted on more than one occasion; they never did manage to get their cutie marks.

It was one of the very few times Discord was unsure of his decision. Whether they intended to or not, the fillies had still liberated him and a small part of him was grateful to them for it. He did not regret turning their lives upside down as he had with all other creatures, but it did not sit right with him that on top of that they had also been subjected to dislike and hate by most of the population. Especially not considering that he himself was the cause of it even after the fillies had done him a great service. Perhaps while he was here he could find some way in which to reward the little ones...

He trailed after Twilight as she trotted through the apple orchard and decided to play a prank on the unsuspecting mare. As the purple pony moved forward she came across a massive ancient looking book lying on the ground and as she drew closer for a look the words on the title cover read 'The Theory of Transdimensional Travel by Starswirl the Bearded'.

Twilight's eyes widened to saucerlike proportions and then she literally pounced on the ancient tome, but no sooner had she made contact that the book exploded forcefully sending the little unicorn flying backwards and colliding with a tree. Fortunately for her, she was not hurt. But unfortunately the explosion resulted in the immediate area being coated in a thick layer of super strong, super sticky bubblegum, Twilight included. Discord threw his head back and cackled maniacally as Twilight shrieked in horror and rage as she found herself glued to a tree and unable to move. For his part, Spike had avoided the explosion and was currently trying to free Twilight by use of his claws, though valiantly fighting against the urge to laugh at her predicament.

Much fun though he was having, Discord still had a job to do. He snapped his talon and vanished from Ponyville, leaving the irate little unicorn to her fate and reappeared in front of the palace gates at Canterlot. He snuck into the castle, passed through the mirror and into the other world. He snapped his talons and teleported to the Kanto region. He then traveled south of Pewter City, into the Viridian Forest and found his prize.

A young man on the cusp of adulthood. He had started his Pokemon journey later than most, but quickly proved himself to be a prodigy and quickly rose through the ranks. There had been a man, the head of a powerful criminal empire with ties to the young trainer. Due to the young trainer's lineage, the man sought to bring the young man's life crashing down around him.

The trainer found the man's headquarters and stormed through looking for vengeance. But while the young man was indeed a gifted trainer, he was not yet the best. He overestimated his abilities and most of his team paid the ultimate price for his foolishness. He had barely managed to escape with his life into the woods of Viridian and at the sights of Discord.

The draconequus spotted his target sitting down in the ground and leaning against a tree. He floated closer to him and in a flash revealed himself to the unsuspecting human. The trainer looked up at the flash of light to find himself looking at the most bizarre creature he had ever seen. His eyes widened a bit as he took in Discord's appearance but he was far too drained to elicit a proper response.

The draconequus, however, did not share his sentiments and spoke in a loud, jovial tone. "Why, hello there, mister trainer! What brings you to these part of the woods?"

At hearing the strange being talk, the human's eyes widened even more, his jaw dropped and a stupefied expression settled upon his face, much too surprised to actually register the question that had been posed to him.

In a flash, Discord disappeared and then reappeared at the human's side, grabbing his head with both of his limbs and lowering his face to look into the human's ear. "Hellooooo? Anybody there?"

The trainer yelped in surprise and broke free of the mad spirit before scuttling away and getting back to his feet. He stared at Discord with a hard and mistrustful look. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Discord's mug split into a wide grin. "Who am I? Who AM I?! You are in the presence of the Spirit of Chaos! The Bringer of Strife! The God of Disharmony! The one and only... Discord!" The draconequus posed in the air and a series of flashy fireworks exploded out of nowhere. "Now, as for why I'm here..."

He suddenly reappeared at the trainer's side. "I came to make you a deal, little human."

"A deal?"

"Why of course! Whether you know it or not, yours truly has been keeping an eye on you for some time. I saw that _dreadful _business you went through just now." he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed nonexisting tears out of his eye. "I would have helped you out if I could, you know but ol' Arceus has this rule about not meddling in the affairs of humans so my hands were tied. But you, you got a very bad deal out of this whole mess and so I have very generously decided to help you in this most terrible of circumstances anyway."

The trainer scoffed and looked away. "Help? How could you possibly help me?" he said derisively.

Discord grinned widely. "Well, little human. I am offering you a fresh start. A chance to begin your life anew, far from this region and all the bad memories it holds. A place where no one knows of you and you'll be able to live your life as you see fit."

"But why should I just tell you..." he cut in before the trainer could speak. "How about I show you instead?"

With no warning whatsoever the draconequus snapped his talons and they both now found themselves in the Sinnoh region and in front of the pedestal that connected the two worlds. Ignoring the trainer's incredulous look, Discord pulled them from their world and into Equestria. He placed a spell that would silence the trainer, as all he would need from him was to listen and they both flew from the castle and into the open air.

They traveled throughout the land, invisible and undetectable to all else and Discord told the trainer how the world they were in was a peaceful one. A world removed from the troubles of his own, a world with no humans and without the pain they brought. A world that would take away his suffering. The trainer was normally a calm and collected individual with a thoughtful and observant mind, not normally ruled by his emotions and not easily swayed by empty promises or flights of fancy. But the trainer's mental and emotional wounds were still fresh and deep. Discord knew that any other time he would be refused, so he made sure to come to him when he was at his most vulnerable.

The trainer only had one question "What's the catch?"

Discord's face split into a huge grin and said "Catch? My boy, there is no catch! You will be given a new chance at life! Whatever destiny you choose to carve out for yourself will be your own!"

Not entirely a lie, but not the full truth either. Discord would influence the young man and the world around him, but ultimately his choices and his actions would be his own. He also neglected to tell the human that while he would indeed reside upon this new world, he never specifically said he would be placed in Equestria.

The trainer agreed and a snap of the draconequus' talons rendered him unconscious. Discord then set himself to work. The trainer wanted to forget so he wouldn't hurt anymore and forget he would. But Discord had other plans. He made the human forget, but he didn't just take away his pain; he took nearly his whole life and left him with the most fleeting of fragments and snippets of memory.

His remaining pokemon were taken from him - save for one - and placed at various locations. He would get them back in time.

Memories or not, the human would remain a trainer at heart. He would grow restless if he stayed in one place too long. He would then follow his instincts and travel across the land.

Lastly, Discord placed his paw at the trainer's head and instilled into his mind specific knowledge of the world. A safety measure too ensure he wouldn't stand out too much.

He considered placing him in the care of the Bearers of the Elements, but quickly scrapped this idea. The Bearers were too kind and accepting. They would care for and bond with him, effectively tying him down and restricting his movements. His puppet would be heavily influenced by their presence and by extension that of Celestia. No, he couldn't allow his puppet's first emotional contact to be with them. He would need to be placed somewhere else, somewhere where the Bearers would not become crutches to him and where he would be allowed to wander without restrictions or interference.

But he needn't worry about that just yet. His pawn would not yet reside in Equestria, not even in the current time period.

No, he was still young. He still needed to learn, grow and acquire the right mindset if he was to carry out his master's will. These requirements would not be met here. Discord snapped his talons and the world once again reformed itself as he traveled thousands of years into the past.

He was now on a distant continent, far beyond the reaches of Equestria and it would be here that his pawn would receive the necessary training and conditioning. After a bit of searching he found a suitable location in which to leave the human. Now all he had to do was sit back and operate from the shadows as he began constructing his latest masterpiece. A small grin formed in the draconequus' face.

Things were about to get _very _interesting.

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**And the first chapter is done! This here's my very first fic so any feedback you guys can give will be most welcome, even flames so long as they're constructive. So if you have any questions, comments or ideas don't be shy about leaving a review or PM. **

**Oh, and just to let any Pokemon fans out there reading this know, Red's team will not consist of the traditional Pikachu and Kanto starters. You can expect more variety this time around.**

**But whatever. Enjoy the story!  
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	2. Meeting Cookie

On a bright summer's day in the middle of a grassy plain lay a young human sprawled and unconscious in the ground. A tiny groan escaped him as he came to and scrunched his closed eyes as they were assaulted by the sun's rays and reflexively moved an arm to cover them.

He groaned again in pain as he was then greeted by a throbbing headache and slowly opened his eyes to a clear blue sky. He turned his head side to side to take in his surroundings and was treated to the sight of verdant green plains, gentle slopes and rolling hills with only the occasional tree or boulder dotting the landscape.

He slowly moved his body to a sitting position, wincing as his joints ached with every move and lifted his hands to rub his temples in an attempt to lessen the pain; after a minute he did notice a difference, not too major but enough that it wouldn't be too distracting.

He then suddenly felt a presence in front of him and he rose his head to look into the oversized eyes of a ghost.

Its form consisted of a simple black sphere upon which there was a mouth and a pair of eyes a few sizes too big; throughout the rotund shape of the ghost was a wispy purple gas surrounding it. It was a Pokemon known as Gastly.

+~Hey there, Voxx~+ the human said. In response, the ghost emitted a series of dull groans that vaguely resembled a laugh and bobbed from his position in the air.

The young man spotted a red and white cap next to his feet which he deftly snatched and placed upon his head, feeling comforted by its feel. Other than sleep and showers, it was a rare time that he went without wearing it. He scanned the area around him once again and saw his backpack lying not too far away. He quickly rose to his feet but immediately regretted it as he was assaulted by a fresh wave of pain and nausea.

He hunched over and breathed raggedly, doing his best to ignore the discomfort and soldiered on. He picked up the bag and rummaged through its contents, pulling out a canteen full of fresh water which he then opened and greedily scarfed down.

The canteen was put away and he reached into the bag once more to pick up a bottle of painkillers. After three of the tablets were gulped down in quick succession, he returned the bottle and closed the backpack.

He spotted a tree nearby, big and leafy enough to give a decent amount of shade and stumbled over, plopping down at the base of its trunk with Voxx the Gastly floating alongside.

He closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the trunk and waited for the painkillers to do their job.

_Oh, m__an!_ _J__ust how in the world did I end up out here? Was I drinking? _It was unlikely as he knew for a fact he was not fond of alcohol.

He tried to think back to the time that may have led to his predicament but he could not, for his life, remember any of it. This was worrisome and more than a mite alarming so he then tried to remember even further back than that only to be met with the same results. He was now really starting to get worried.

He looked to the floating form of Voxx. +~Do you know what happened here?~+

The ghost emitted a mournful sound and bobbed side to side in a parody of shaking his head.

_Shit! What happened here?! Was I drugged or something? _A sharp gasp escaped his lips at the thought of this possibility. He stood up, removed his red vest and lifted the plain black t-shirt he wore underneath and began inspecting his body as best he could, using his hands to get a feel for his back.

Satisfied that nothing was wrong, he put the vest back on and sat back down at the tree's trunk. _Okay. Good. My organs are all still there... I think. _He tried to calm his breathing, knowing that panic would do him no good right now. He could not remember anything about himself.

What was his name? He searched for it and thankfully, the answer came to him.

Red. His name was Red, that much he knew.

And he was... how old? He did not know this.

Where did he live? Pallet town... in the Kanto region.

Friends? Family? Nothing there.

What did he do for a living? He was a Pokemon trainer. He looked down to his belt and indeed there was Voxx's pokeball, but no others. He searched his backpack but did not find any more balls hidden there.

Was Voxx his only Pokemon? He did not know.

_Dammit! Okay, calm down. Think, think, think. What am I gonna do now? _Obviously he would need to find his way back to civilization. A simple enough goal save for the fact he had no clue where he was.

He went through the pocket in his vest and pulled out a rather worn and scratched pokedex. Every model came with a GPS feature in case its owner would get lost in the wilderness, a fact that happened more often than he'd care to admit; but to the trainer's dismay there was no signal to be found. _Grea_t. _Just my luck._ He sighed in disappointment and placed the device back in.

+~You know, I had a... very strange dream.~+

The Gastly tilted his face but made no sound; Red went on regardless. +~I dreamt I was in Viridian forest and then... _something..._ I don't quite remember what it was but it took me, took me from the world and put me in another one, like a... different dimension or something like that,~+ he chuckled humorlessly. +~And get this, the world the thing put me in, there's no pokemon or humans there. Instead there are these creatures that sort of look like pokemon. Ponies and... griffins, and lycans, and minotaurs, badgers, wolverines. Odd names, don't you think~+

The ghost emitted an undecipherable groan.

Red snorted in amusement. +~Just saying, it's odd.~+

He looked around once more and spotted a particularly large hill in the distance and it would be here that he'd make his destination. With any luck he may be able to spot signs of civilization or even another wandering trainer who could help him out.

He looked to Voxx and said +~Come on. We gotta get moving.~+ The Gastly nodded, or rather, bobbed in understanding and moved to the shadow that Red's body cast and stuck to it.

Gengar were the final evolution of Gastly. Powerful, wicked ghosts with an array of bizarre and otherworldly abilities at their command. Gengar were known to seamlessly be able to meld into the shadows of other living beings so well, that the host would never know it was there. Gastly, however, were not yet at that level of skill and could only 'cling' to the shadows of another, but were unable to meld into them.

Even so, this unrefined ability served the Gastly well. The corporeal form of Ghost Pokemon consisted of an unearthly power that manifested itself into the Ghost's respective forms. Because of this, Ghost Pokemon actually existed on two planes of reality at the same time.

But Gastly were fairly weak as Ghost types go and their earthly forms were composed of little more than various amounts of gases. This meant that a strong wind could sweep away an unsuspecting Gastly and disperse the gases that made up its body into several different directions at once.

This did not actually kill the Pokemon as the individual gas molecules could simply find their way back to each other and reform the Pokemon but it was still a very inconvenient and annoying flaw. But the Gastly could find a way around this by latching on to shadows which 'anchored' them whenever a strong wind blew.

Red made his way over to the hill and when he reached the top, he looked around and spotted a river cutting through the landscape ahead. This was an encouraging find. Even in the modern age of the world, small towns and villages could still be found in the wilderness. And any self respecting village would of course not pass the opportunity to settle close or next to a river.

He removed his backpack and rummaged through it, pulling out a pair of binoculars and looked to the right and at the direction the river was flowing from. Nothing but grasslands as far as the eye could see. He then looked to the left, the direction the river was flowing to and saw numerous trees in the distance, though there was something peculiar about them.

From what he could see, the trees were arranged into neat rows. This did not normally happen in the wild so he could only surmise someone had planted them in that position. His assumption was further strengthened when he barely, just barely was able to make out a roof even further into the distance.

Grinning in vindication, Red returned the binoculars and walked toward the grove of trees. He noticed that the trees were planted on either side of the river and as he got closer he could see that the trees bore fruit. The ones on the left side of the river were apples while the ones on the right seemed to be oranges. He walked right up to one and plucked a low hanging apple which was quickly demolished.

He turned in the direction he thought the roof he had seen earlier would be that and sure enough, he found a poorly maintained dirt road that led to it. The roof turned out to be part of a barn and not too far away was a house that looked very... primitive in regards to architecture. Not only that but it also seemed a bit small and he could see that the front door was shorter than the average human. _Weird. Is it built for one of those, what do they call them... little people?_

Red couldn't help but notice that not a soul had been in sight since he first stepped foot in the orchard so he walked to the house's front door and knocked. He got no response so he knocked again and again and still nobody came. _Hmm... they all must be out.  
_

He circled around and found a window that was basically a porthole which he then looked into. The inside of the house was odd to say the least. Wood. Wood everywhere. Simple, rustic chairs that didn't look too comfortable along with tables and cabinets. No wallpaper or drywall in sight either, just... wood. The electronic age seemed to have completely passed by the owners of this house. He couldn't spot a light bulb anywhere either.

Even more strange, he could not detect a piece of modern equipment in the house. There were the odd iron fittings used for hinges, locks and handles and even something that looked like copper but no steel or plastic whatsoever. Red shook his head and backed away from the medieval-ish abode.

Obviously there was nobody here that could help him so he'd have to go elsewhere. He had looked around to be sure but it seemed the dirt road he had come from was the only one there and also it led further and into a direction away from the house. He got to thinking that maybe it led to a small town or village nearby. He had come across such small settlements before and the house's backwater feel made him think this was a similar occasion.

With that in mind he made for the road and followed it. The rather dense foliage on either side of the road made it somewhat difficult to see what lay ahead but after a few minutes the vegetation receded and Red could make out the small town in front. But something gave him pause.

Moving to and fro were a multitude of quadrupedal, multicolored shapes. Not human at all. Red stared with a slackened jaw until he realized they were simply ponies. Earth ponies at that.

_Ponies!? Earth ponies!? WHAT!? _He stood paralyzed, his arms and hands twitching erratically. _The... the dream! I'm dreaming right now, right?_ Yes, of course. That had to be it. He was still dreaming, very vividly at that but dreaming nonetheless. He pinched himself... hard; but did not awake. He did it again and again and only pain was his response. He sighed wearily and tried to ignore the discomfort. _  
_

This... was not a dream. Of that he was convinced. The heat of the sun on his skin, the solid earth below him and the feel of the cool breeze against his face; these sensations, they felt far too real to be part of a dream. He was no longer in his world. He was actually in... somewhere. Somewhere where ponies lived. Earth ponies. Unicorns. Pegasi. They all made their home here in this land and if his 'dream' was anything to go by there were a multitude of other sentient species scattered throughout this world. No pokemon. No humans. He was in a completely different world.

His legs felt like jelly and he could feel himself falling and landing hard on his rear. His breathing was rapid and ragged and that chilling sensation began to overtake his body. _Another world. I'm actually in another world. But... how? Why? _That thing. The thing in his so called dream. It had taken him from his world and dropped him in this current one. Why did it do that? He forced himself to focus and tried to recall what he could about this mysterious figure.

What was its manner of appearance? What did it sound like? Red could faintly recall that words had been exchanged between him and this figure, but as to what those words were he did not know. He could not remember a thing about it save for the fact that it was there and that it was responsible for this most unique of circumstances.

_Okay. Okay. So, I'm in another world. ...Right. What now?_

A good question. His brain was currently in the process of accepting his current predicament. Part of him was in denial, convinced this could not possibly be real. On the other hand, a more prominent section of his psyche was prepared to accept this and was formulating a course of action.

He knew, somehow he knew that humans did not inhabit this land and thus as being the sole example of Homo Sapiens he would no doubt stick out like a sore thumb. But, what if this so called knowledge in his head was faulty? This world was inhabited by ponies, minotaurs, griffins and much more. Surely there was the possibility of other humans being here? It was not _impossible..._ right?

It went without saying but he would obviously need to find a way back home. If he was capable of being whisked away and thrown into a completely different world then the reverse would surely prove true as well. Problem was, how should he go about this? He hadn't the faintest idea as to the mechanics that went about trans-dimensional travel or whatever force it was that brought him here.

This world, it operated in magic. Actual magic. Red always liked to keep an open mind, not dismissing the possibility of things like magic or space aliens or those supposed legendaries that had only been seen by a handful of people. He wasn't all too sure if magic did indeed exist here, but he'd believe it when he saw it.

Information. Knowledge of the terrain. This is what he would need for now. It seemed this knowledge was not currently in his head, but fortunately there was a pony village right in front of him and its residents would no doubt know more than him in this matter. Even so, how should he approach the ponies? This would probably be their first time seeing a human. In what manner would they react to his presence? Would they be friendly? Hostile? Reserved?

Red shook his head to derail this train of thought. Too many variables. He decided to simply wing it and began to make his way over.

He kept going and reached the edge of the town. The buildings seemed to be composed of wood, stone and mud and there was a notable lack of color on them. Nothing but varying shades of browns, greys, dull reds and the straw roofs here and there. No sign of any paint anywhere. It was rather... depressing.

Not only that, the buildings also seemed to be in par with the house he had just visited, albeit in slightly better conditions and just like the house there were no signs of technology, modern or not. No light bulbs, no lamp posts, no _wires or cables _anywhere in sight. Red groaned. _Oh, great_. _It's one of _those towns. He was hoping that at least the ponies had discovered the wonders of technology._  
_

But it did not matter. Modern accommodations or not, Red still needed help and this pony-run town was his best means to get it. As he began to head in he could see that the hamlet was already buzzing with activity with the ponies out and about each running their respective errands.

There were ponies pulling on carts stockpiled with goods. A flock of sheep was being led through the streets by two farm ponies. There was the pounding of metal against metal emanating from the local blacksmith. There was the sweet smell of freshly baked bread bread from a nearby bakery, the loaves coated with honey and put on display to tantalize potential customers. Colts and fillies were playing and finding entertainment wherever and however they could, whether it be a game of tag or splashing on water puddles which elicited disapproving stares from nearby adults.

He noticed that most of the ponies seemed to be wearing equine versions of frocks, tunics and headwear.

But the hustle and bustle gradually came to a standstill as the ponies became aware of the presence of the human and Gastly strolling about. Red couldn't help but recede into himself as he was suddenly assaulted by dozens upon dozens of eyes fixed on him; he had always been an introvert and therefore not too comfortable with attention, which the ponies were piling on him.

In a valiant but ultimately futile attempt to defuse the tense atmosphere, Red stopped and looked towards a nearby stallion before trying a grin that came across more like a grimace and raised a hand to wave and say hello, though rather than a friendly greeting, a strangled noise crossed his lips.

Red shoved his hands into the pockets of his vest and kept on walking at a more hurried pace, his head low and his cheeks flushed from embarrassment. Voxx, on the other hand, was oblivious to his trainer's discomfort, happily leering at the multitude of equines surrounding them.

He approached a fruit stand being attended by a mare who visibly flinched as he came closer. He could see from the corner of his eye that the nearby ponies were tense and shuffling restlessly. Obviously this town was not used to human visitors.

Red kept his actions clam and deliberate, not wanting to upset the locals. As he came to the stall being attended by the wide-eyed mare he spoke. "Hello. Do you ponies have an inn near here?" The words he spoke, they came with a heavy accent and he had trouble pronouncing them. He was speaking in the ponies' own language, a language he swore he hadn't known beforehand. Was this also the doing of that mystery figure?

The mare blinked owlishly before speaking in a meek voice. "E-excuse me?"

"An inn or a tavern. Do you have anything like that in this town?"

The mare pointed to a spot down the dirt road, never taking her eyes off the human. "K-keep going straight d-down the road. Should be to your right. Can't miss it."

Red nodded. "Thank you kindly."

He went down the direction the mare pointed to, the ponies never taking their eyes off him and his pokemon, drawing new stares as they shuffled deeper in. True enough, he came across the inn.

It was one of the larger buildings around and situated in a spot just before one would come into what Red would guess was the town square. He walked up the stairs that led to it and he could see a wooden sign in which the words 'Cozy Colt Inn' were intricately carved. He opened the door and went in, Voxx following close behind.

Red expected the ponies inside to react in the same manner as the ones before and he was not disappointed. All activity ceased once again as the workers and patrons laid eyes upon the unlikely pair. Having expected this turn of events, Red was not too bothered and mostly managed to shake it off.

The inside of the inn was inviting and cozy if a little rough around the edges. The day was still bright enough that sunlight provided enough lighting and all the windows were open. Yet another oddity in the town was that there was no glass anywhere Red could see. The houses Red had just passed by either did not have windows and if they did, they were simply 'mini doors', wooden of course, scattered along the walls.

Ponies were seated in round tables which were arranged in no particular order and almost all of them had either a mug in front filled with some sort of alcohol or a plate with a block of salt. The smell of a delicious something permeated the air, most likely coming from the kitchen at the back.

Red tried not to show his uneasiness and strode in, weaving around the tables and the staring locals, some of whom leaned away as he got close and while the stares directed at him were filled with wariness and mistrust, Voxx elicited fear more than anything, a fact the Gastly was all too aware of, making him swell with pride and causing him to stare at the ponies in a highly unsettling manner. Red scowled at his pokemon. +~Behave yourself.~+ he muttered through gritted teeth and the ghost grudgingly complied.

He found a seat at an empty table in a corner of the room, choosing to sit still and not making eye contact with anyone and after after a minute of inactivity the ponies eventually ceased their vigilance and went back to whatever it was they were doing, though speaking in hushed tones and shooting the pair furtive looks now and then. He was able to make out some of the conversation that sprouted in his wake.

"I say, what _are_ those things?"

"Looks like some sort of monkey."

"It's so... tall!"

"A monkey followed by a ghost."

"Is it dangerous?"

"You think they're here to cause trouble?"

"Should somepony call for the militia?"

"Where do they come from, I wonder."

"What business have they here?"

"Look at its clothes. What strange garments."

Red tried not to take heed of the whispers and chose to ignore them as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Due to the ponies' shorter statures, the tables were much lower to the ground to say nothing of the chairs which barely accommodated his size. He had played far too many RPGs in his handheld to know that inns or taverns were the places to go if one wished to glean information and it was for that reason that he made this establishment his destination. That and the fact he had no clue where else to go.

He was cut out of his musings as a shadow flitted over the table and he looked up to find himself face-to-muzzle with an earth pony mare - brown coated, red maned and wearing a simple green tunic. "Greetings, stranger. Welcome to the Cozy Colt Inn. Is there anything I can get for you?" she said with an easy smile that did not seem too sincere. Red did not miss the fact that she placed herself in a position where she could keep an eye on both him and the ghost.

"What do you have to eat?" asked Red.

The mare began to list the different options. "Well, today we are serving plain or spiced hay, tossed grass, potato soup, veggie stew or just plain fruit."

"I'll take the soup."

The mare nodded."Very well, one soup coming up." she paused and shifted her attention toward the ghost. "And, uhh... is your _friend_ there getting anything?" she looked apprehensively at Voxx, who had been staring at her with unblinking eyes.

Red shook his head "Just the soup, please."

"Alright, then. One soup coming up. That will come to four bits, stranger." She still looked queasy at Voxx's silent vigil but tried not to show it.

Red winced internally at this. He had plenty of PokeDollars to his name but none of these bits the ponies used as currency. He sighed to himself and reached into his pocket to pull out some of the bills. For all he knew the mare would probably accept them. But there was something strange as his hand touched the money. Instead of the paper currency, his fingers came across a multitude of coins. Frowning in puzzlement he pulled out his hand and in it were a number of bits.

He did not know how long he had been staring at the money in his hand but the sound of a cleared throat brought him back to see the mare shuffling on her hooves and staring at him quizzically. Red handed the money over and forced a smile on his face. "Here. Sorry about that."

The mare took the money and placed it in a small saddlebag.

"Not a problem. Your food should be ready shortly." she said

Red nodded and watched her trot off.

Sure enough, less than two minutes passed and the server pony returned, balancing a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread in a platter which she then placed in front of him. "Here you are, one bowl of soup. Enjoy."

"Thank you." he said. He pulled the steaming bowl towards him and the food did indeed smell delicious. He grabbed a spoon and was ready to begin eating but paused as he noticed the mare still hovering over the table and regarding him curiously. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

The server pony must not have noticed she was staring at her customer, for she blushed profusely and ducked her head, keeping her ears low. "N-no! No. There is nothing wrong at all. I-it's just that..." she trailed off.

"Yes?" Red enquired.

"Well... it's just that," she slowly pawed a hoof at the floor "I don't think I have ever seen any of your kind before."

Red's eyebrow arched in puzzlement. "Any of my kind? You mean you've never seen a human before?"

A spark of curiosity ignited in the mare's eyes. "Human? Is that what your kind call themselves?" she looked upwards in concentration and put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm... don't think I've ever heard of humans before."

Red gave her a calculated look. "Seriously?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Can't say that I have. Why?" she asked.

"Because... humans have built settlements pretty much everywhere in the world. There should be one not too far from here." _I hope so, at least. _It was a long shot, but one never knew.

The mare was skeptical. "I don't know what to tell you, friend. I don't think anypony here has seen or heard of you humans before. If there really are more of you near here then I have not heard a thing about it."

Red looked down at his food and considered her words for a moment. He was beginning to dread there would be nothing useful to learn in this backwater village.

The pony's voice cut in. "And what of your companion? Is he a... ghost?"

"Yes." came the clipped response.

"Is it safe having something like that around? Are you not afraid it's gonna... steal your soul?" she finished in a whisper.

Red gave her a slightly incredulous look. "Don't be silly. He's harmless; by the way, I don't suppose you have a library in this town?"

The earth pony tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Library? What is a library?"

_Oh, you have got to be kidding me. _"Uhh... you know, a place with books." he waved a hand in a vague gesture.

She seemed even more confused than before. "...Books?"

Resisting the urge to pinch his nose in frustration, Red reached into his backpack and pulled out a thin instruction manual. "This here's a book, sort of. Is there a place that has anything like this?"

The mare's eyes widened and exhaled sharply as she laid eyes on what one would normally consider to be an unimpressive object. "Well! Will you look at that!" she reached without permission and swiped the manual out of Red's hand and regarded it with a sense of wonder. "Just look at this craftsmareship!" she exclaimed fervently as she leafed through the pages. "This parchment... it's so thin and smooth and of extremely fine quality! A-and this strange language... the words are so... even and ordered! Not a single one out of place!" she looked towards Red with gleaming eyes. "Where did you get this, stranger?"

Red was staring at the pony with bemusement. "It came with the backpack." he said flatly. "Anyway, I need to get some information on where I am, the exact location of this town and the land surrounding it."

"So you need to know the lay of the land, is that it?" she asked.

"Pretty much."

The mare looked down and tapped a hoof to her chin. "Hmm. You know, it just so happens I could help you out with that. Or at least, I can point you to somepony who can." She looked up and a sly smile formed on her muzzle. "In exchange for something, of course."

Red quirked an eyebrow. _I'm starting to like this pony. _"In exchange for what? The book?" he glanced at the object which was still in the mare's hooves.

A small frown creased her muzzle as she looked down at the(from her perspective) wondrous manual. After much deliberation she decided that while keeping it would have indeed been nice, she could stand to gain more otherwise. "...No, you can have it." she placed it in front of him. "I want what you want."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Information, of course. I'll take you to see somepony who can help you out and in return I get to ask you anything I want... and you have to answer everything truthfully!" she declared with a zealous twinkle in her eyes.

Red was taken aback by this. He hadn't expected her demand to be so simple. Then again, this place the ponies lived in was indeed primitive and his presence and that of the manual must have led the pony to believe that he had some pretty interesting stuff to share.

"Okay, it's a deal." he extended his hand for the pony to shake. "The name's Red, by the way."

The mare grinned triumphantly and thrust her own hoof forward, shaking his hand vigorously and sealing the deal. "Smart Cookie, nice to meet you; but just call me Cookie."

Red nodded and stood from the table. "Let's head out, then."

Smart Cookie looked at him questioningly. "Oh, right now?" she received a nod and looked down sheepishly. "Yes... about that. I didn't mean right now. I gotta go finish my shift first. But don't you worry, I should be out soon enough! Just stay there for now and eat you food, okay. I'll be back soon as I can." she abruptly turned around and rushed back to work, not giving Red the opportunity to get in a word edgewise.

Red blinked perplexedly and stared at the spot Smart Cookie had occupied. He chuckled at the pony's demeanor and sat back down. He noticed that a number of the clients had already left, leaving only a few tables occupied. It suited him just right as it meant less stares. His attention was diverted to the untouched food in front of him which had been all but forgotten and he remembered he had actually been hungry.

He picked up the wooden spoon and sampled the soup. It was very good. The food was quickly eaten and he set down the utensil. Now all he had to do was wait for Smart Cookie to be done so they could be on their way. The mare seemed to alternate between sweeping the inn, tending to the customers and working behind the door at the back.

As Red waited for her, he looked to the side to see what his pokemon was up to, but the ghost was not there. "Voxx?" he called out but the ghost did no respond. He was not hiding under the table, or behind him, or floating above. This worried him. Ghost pokemon were infamous for being troublemakers, and trouble was not something he needed right now.

He spotted the ghost at a table in a slightly darkened corner of the inn. Voxx was hovering over the table upon which two ponies sat. Voxx's oversized eyes were glowing in a light pink and seemed to be engaged in a staring contest with the ponies, who were staring unblinkingly at the Gastly's luminous orbs, their bodies lightly swaying side to side. A second later, Voxx's victims succumbed to the Hypnosis and their heads clunked unceremoniously on the table, one of the ponies getting a face full of food.

_Arceus-dammit, Voxx! _Red's eyes darted around the room, checking to see if anyone had noticed the spectacle and by some stroke of luck, it had gone unnoticed. Conspicuously as he could, Red unclipped Voxx's pokeball from his belt and, making sure to keep his hand below the table and that there were no wandering eyes, pointed it at an unsuspecting Voxx who was immediately transferred into its contents.

Just in time too as Smart Cookie came trotting up to him now sporting a hat to match her tunic. "Okay, I'm here. Ready to go?"

"Yes." he said as he stood up.

Smart Cookie looked around, searching for something. "Say, where's that odd spectre friend of yours?"

Red shrugged. "Voxx? He's around here somewhere. He'll turn up eventually." he said without missing a beat.

"You sure?"

He nodded. "He always does."

They both made their way out the inn and to the town outside.


End file.
